MAGREAD™

Type: Machine-readable magnetic and optical security feature — applied as a printed ink element on Guardian™ polymer banknote substrate

Overview

MAGRead™ is CCL Secure's proprietary combined magnetic and optical machine-readable security feature, exclusive to the Guardian™ polymer banknote platform. Unlike the visual security features in the Guardian™ portfolio, MAGRead™ is designed principally to serve the automated cash processing infrastructure used by commercial and central banks, rather than as a public-facing authentication cue.

Technology & Effects

MAGRead™ is a Level 3 security feature with magnetic and optical elements that are both machine readable and visually identifiable. A magnetically readable ink is applied in a straight thread format, or a non-linear, complex pattern or patch. The dual-property nature of the feature — combining a magnetic signal with an optical characteristic — means it can be detected and verified by automated banknote processing equipment using multiple sensing modalities simultaneously, increasing the robustness of machine authentication and making it significantly harder to simulate with a single-property counterfeit element.

The visual component of MAGRead™ provides a secondary means of identification, allowing trained cash handlers to identify its presence without specialist equipment, while the magnetic component is the primary machine-readable signal read by banknote examination machines (BEMs), ATMs, and high-speed sorting equipment.

Form Factors & Application

The magnetically readable ink can be applied in a straight thread format, or as a non-linear, complex pattern or patch, giving issuers design flexibility in how the feature is integrated. The non-linear pattern option adds complexity that is difficult to replicate without knowledge of the specific geometry, encoding, or magnetic signal profile used — details that remain proprietary to CCL Secure and the issuing central bank. MAGRead™ is exclusive to Guardian™ polymer substrate.

Security Levels

MAGRead™ operates at Level 3, intended for verification by machines and forensic analysis rather than public or retail authentication. With MAGRead™, commercial and central banks can rapidly authenticate and count large volumes of banknotes through automated processing equipment — a critical operational requirement for central banks managing large-scale cash cycles. Its dual magnetic-optical signature provides a high-confidence authentication signal that is not dependent on any single physical property.

Notable Deployments

Romania's 20 Lei Guardian™ polymer banknote includes a MAGRead™ thread as part of its security feature set. Specific technical details of MAGRead™ deployments — including signal profiles, encoding schemes, and the full list of issuing banks — are not publicly disclosed, consistent with standard practice for Level 3 machine-readable features.

Name

MAGREAD™

Category

Security Feature

Effect Types

Machine readable magnetics

Company

CCL Secure
Company Website

Product Page

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Linked Features

1 security feature